Self-playing piano attachment.



PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

J. W. DARLEY, In. I SELF-PLAYING PIANO ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1905.

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PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

J. w. DARLBY, IR. SELF PLAYING PIANO ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1905.

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PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906.

J. w. DARLBY, 1R. SELF PLAYING PIANO ATTACHMENT.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 13, 1905.

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my improvement.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. DARLEY, JR., OF BALTIMORE. MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO WIL- LIAM KN ABE & COMPANY, MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

SELF-PLAYING PIANO ATTACHMENT.

Patented. Dec. 11, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. DARLEY, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, State of Maryland, have invented. certain new and usefullmprovements in Self-Playing Piano Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in self-playing piano attachments; and the object of my invention is to rovide a simple device of this character W ereby the keys will be unlocked during the operation of rerolling, so that the operator can play if he wishes to.

With this object in view my invention consists in the construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a piano, showing Fig. 2 is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of a part thereof, and Fig. 3 is a plan view, also on an enlarged scale, of the same. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the connections between the operating-lever and the rerolling mechanism, and Fig. 5 is a similar fragmentary front view.

0 represents an ordinary piano-key pivoted near the center, as is usual.

5 represents the ordinary pivoted key-slip adapted to be folded down when the piano is to be used as a self-playing instrument.

0 represents the lever by the shifting of which the rerolling or playing means is brought into operation. In Fig. 3 the position of this lever c,infull lines, is the ordinary automatic play position and the position shown in dotted lines is that in which the rerolling takes place. The usual connections are provided whereby the shifting of the lever from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines causes the rerolling action and terminates the automatic-playing action.

link g, the outer end of which is pivoted by clip h to a bracket & on the folding stop-rail 76. This stop-rail is pivoted, by means of hinges Z, to a base-piece m, firmly attached to the iano-frame, which base-piece is slotted to al ow the free movement of the lever c.

. Obviously by means of the connection described the movement of the lever c from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 will cause the stop-rail 76 to fold backward, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus releasing the keys, so that the user may operate them.

Referring especially to Figs. 4 and 5, a represents the key. 1 represents the operatinglever, and k thefolding sto -rail, as already described. Theoperatingever 1, however, is shown in Fig. 4 aspivoted on a pin 2 and having an end projecting beyond said pin, to which is pivoted a rod 3, the parts being shown in the opposite position to those shown in Fig 3. The rod 3 is pivoted to a lever 4, which rocks on a pivot 5 and has pivoted to it a rod 6, near the end of which is journaled the end of the arm 7 of a lever 10, which terminates in an upturned point 11, which is pivotally engaged with the rod 12. The lever 10 is pivoted in brackets 8, held on the piano-frame 9. The other end of the rod 12 is pivotally connected with the upturned end 13 of a lever 14, the other upturned end of which, 15, engages a shifting pulley 16 on the shaft 17, which operates the rolling and rerolling mechanism. The shaft 1 7 is driven by means of a s rocket-chain 19, which engages with a sproc et-wheel 18 on the shaft 17 and a sprocket-wheel 33 on the shaft 34, which is driven by cranks 35 and connecting-rods 36, leading to the motor. The shaft 17 is slidably supported in beams 30 and 32, carried by the piano-frame, and the shaft 14 is supported in brackets 29 on the beam 30.

On the shaft 17 is a sprocket-wheel 20, over which runs a sprocket-chain 21, engaging a sprocket-wheel 22 on the clutch, by means of which the music-roll 23 is rerolled. The sprocket-wheel 20 runs loosely upon the shaft 17 and is driven, by the rotation of said shaft, by means of the pin 24 on said shaft engaging the pin 25 on said sprocket-wheel. The sprocket-wheel 20 is prevented from having a'longitudinal movement by any suitable means. On one end of the shaft 17 is fixedly mounted a pinion 26, which when the shaft is shifted by the action of the lever 1 is adapted to engage the gear-wheel 27 on the roller 28, and when such shifting action. takes place the pins 24 and 25 are disengaged from each other. These parts are in the position corresponding to the position of the lever 1, (shown in Fig. 1,) which is the rerolling position.

The operation of the lever 1 from the posi tion shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 3 will thus obviously shift the shaft 17 by means of the connections 3, 4, 6, 7, 1.0, 12, 14:, 15, and 16, throwing the gear-wheels 26 and 27 into engagement and disengaging the pins 2 1 and 25, or, in other words, disengaging the rerolling-clutch and putting into operation the roller 28, upon which the music is wound during the operation of playing.

The rerolling attachment and means for operating the same are substantially those of the old and well-known types.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a sell-playing piano attachment, the combination of keys, means for preventing the operation of said keys, rerolling mechanism, a lever for controlling said rerolling mechanism and positively-acting mechanical connections between said lever and said locking means for preventing the operation of the keys, substantially as described.

2. In. a self-playing piano attachment, the combination oi keys, a stop-rail therefor, n orrnally lockin said keys against movement, rerolling mechanism, a lever for controlling said. rerolling mechanism and positively-acting mechanical connections between said le ver and said stop-rail, substantially as described.

3. In a sell-playing piano attachment, the combination. of a piano-frame, keys, a stoprail pivoted on said piano-frame, a lever for bringing the rerolling mechanism into operation, said.rerollingmechanism, and positivelyacting mechanical cminections between said lever and said pivoted stop-rail, substantially as described.

1. In a self-playing piano attachment, the combination. of keys, at pivoted stop-rail underneath. said keys and normally locking said keys against movement, a pivoted lever passing underneath said keys, and a link, free to move in both a horizontal and a vertical plane, pivotally connected to said lever and to said stop-rail, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence 01 two witnesses.

JOHN DARL EY, JR.

\Vitnesses GEO. A. BYRNE, W. MAX DUVALL. 

